Emanuel: Principals need to hire their own team

September 11, 2012

On Day 2 of the Chicago teachers strike, Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he’s standing up for reforms the district believes will work.

Emanuel said again that just two issues divide the union and district: a new system for evaluating teachers and job security.

The union wants laid off teachers to get preference for open jobs, as the district moves to close schools for low performance and as enrollment drops.

Emanuel says that would hamstring principals he wants to hold accountable.

"I don’t think downtown should be in the business of selecting the teachers that the local school principal should select," said Emanuel.

"It’s just like holding a coach accountable for a team’s results. They create the team."

Emanuel said he doesn’t believe teachers have walked out over “strikeable” issues – meaning he doesn’t think this is a legal strike. But he said he wants the dispute handled at the bargaining table, not in the courts.

The union, meanwhile, says of 49 articles in the contract, they’ve signed off on only 6.